Sometimes guests arrive early or the bird is done late. The trick to keep everyone satisfied: yummy appetizers you can make ahead.

When it comes to making dinner, timing everything right can be difficult, even on the best of days. During the holidays, it can be nearly impossible. Even if your guests and your turkey are ready on time, you’ll still need something to offer hungry people until all of that food makes it to the dinner table. You may even need a little snack yourself to keep your blood glucose stable, especially if you take diabetes medicines and will be eating dinner later than normal. The solution: Set out some delicious appetizers.

There’s one hitch, though. You need to choose the right appetizers—otherwise you will simply be making more work for yourself on party day. What you need are simple dishes that you can make ahead of time and that fit into your healthy eating goals.

Here’s a family favorite: Vidalia Onion Dip. This blend of cheeses and sweet onions is best served warm with woven wheat crackers. Another classic is Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms. Kids love to help spoon filling into the caps, even if they won’t be eating them later. Both of these can be baked ahead of time, then reheated just before serving.

If you’re not this year’s Thanksgiving hostess, offer to supply a tray of Baked Crab Rangoon appetizers. These elegant starters take 20 minutes to assemble and another 20 in the oven, but their flaky, rich flavor makes them worth every minute. Be sure to take along the recipe for folks who want a copy.

Easiest of all is serving an appetizer that won’t require any warming up, like our Favorite Topped Deviled Eggs. This is another kids-in-the-kitchen favorite: They love squirting the creamy filling into the egg halves.